UPDATE: Oppenheimer Downgrades Pernix Therapeutics (PTX) to Perform

(Updated - March 17, 2016 9:22 AM EDT)

Oppenheimer downgraded Pernix Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTX) from Outperform to Perform and removed its price target (prior $9). Analyst Carlos Solorzano said moderate growth of Treximet scripts is encouraging but he pointed out debt obligations are high relative to cash flow.

"Pernix reported 4Q15 revenues and adjusted EPS of $46.4M/($0.59), below our estimates of $47.9M/($0.02) and consensus $48.7M/$0.01. The miss was primarily due to pricing pressures, which resulted in lower than expected Treximet revenues ($26.8M vs. our est. $29.4M) and a $20M income tax provision (vs. an estimated tax benefit). We believe share underperformance resulted from low script and revenue growth as well as from Pernix's high debt, which has become a concern. Given lower script/revenue growth and the debt risks, we are downgrading PTX to Perform from Outperform and removing our price target," said the analyst.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Pernix Therapeutics click here. For more ratings news on Pernix Therapeutics click here.

Shares of Pernix Therapeutics closed at $1.16 yesterday.

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